


Nailed it

by plikki



Series: Cosmetics reveals [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Manicures & Pedicures, Nail Polish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Adrien admires Marinette's manicure only to see it on Ladybug's nails a few hours later. What are the odds?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Cosmetics reveals [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110731
Comments: 32
Kudos: 253





	Nailed it

**Author's Note:**

> "Write this down, it's not going to be long," my brain said, fooling me once again and 1.4k words later, I'm like 🙄

When Adrien arrived at school, he found the girls huddled around Marinette and Alya’s desk, giggling over something. When he approached, they dispersed, leaving a grinning Marinette behind.

“Hey, Adrien, come here,” Alya called him over. He smiled and approached them.

“What’s up, Alya?” 

To his surprise, she took Marinette’s hand in hers and lifted it up to his face. He caught a blurry pink as it moved in front of his eyes. He realised he wasn’t going to see anything, so he left his school bag and reached for the hand himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a satisfied smile on Alya’s face, accompanied by a gasp from Marinette once her hand was in his. But he was too mesmerised by the pretty nails in front of him to notice.

The background was a lovely pastel pink that was Marinette’s trademark colour, but it was the small, intricate flowers drawn on top of it that caught his attention. They were in a darker shade of pink, with black and while elements that made them pop out. It was a real work of art as far as he was concerned.

“Did you do that yourself, Marinette?” He said in awe.

“No,” Alya snorted, making him look up at their faces. “A friend of her mother’s offered to give her a manicure. But isn’t it the prettiest thing?”

He felt like a fool as he realised that of course this was the work of a professional. But the thing was, he could totally see Marinette do something as beautiful herself, she was talented enough. 

“It is beautiful,” he agreed, finally looking at Marinette.

She was looking at him with wide eyes and mouth open in surprise, her cheeks a darker shade of pink than the rest of her face. 

“T-thank you, Adrien” she finally managed to say. He cursed himself for making her uncomfortable again, but still took great care to gently lay her hand down on the desk instead of just dropping it as if it was hot iron in the face of her embarrassment.

When he sat down at his desk, he couldn’t help wondering if Ladybug’s nails were also painted in some pretty colour under the gloves. He could imagine his lady doing girly things and sharing it with her friends. Of course, it wasn’t something for his eyes, so there was no point in wondering what it was. He sighed as class began and tried to make himself forget about pretty nails and pink cheeks.

*

When an akuma struck later that day, Adrien expected it to be a normal fight. They were getting pretty good, normally wrapping it all up in less than half an hour. But this was apparently not a good day.

They were both exhausted and on the verge of transforming when they sought refuge on an abandoned building. They found a chimney and sat on both sides of it just as Plagg flew out of his ring and fell into a tired heap in his hand.

“Just a second, Plagg,” he said as he reached into his pocket for his piece of Camembert only to find it empty. He looked around in panic, somehow expecting it to materialise on the rooftop. “What happened to the cheese?” He asked, his eyes falling on the kwami.

“I was hungry, ok?” Plagg said, not even looking like he was sorry.

“Wonderful. What are you supposed to eat now?” Huffing, Adrien called out to Ladybug. “M’lady, I’m really sorry, can you by any chance spare something from your kwami’s food because this glutton over here apparently had his snack earlier?”

He heard a sigh and Tikki saying “Classic Plagg,” before a hand reached around the chimney to offer him half of a pink macaron. Even before he could take it, Plagg was all over it. He was clearly hungry and it didn’t matter that it wasn’t cheese. 

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes falling to the empty hand resting on the roof. It didn’t retreat immediately and he couldn’t resist looking. It was wrong, he knew it was, curiosity had gotten him into trouble in the past. But he couldn’t stop himself. 

And then it was too late. He saw the familiar shape of the flowers painted on the nails, the same pastel pink background. Before he knew it, he’d turned around and grabbed the hand in his. 

“What are you doing?” Came the surprised reaction from the other side of the chimney.

He looked carefully, convinced he was imagining things. What were the odds that on the same day that Marinette got this kind of manicure, his lady did so as well? It was exactly the same, even down to a chip on the thumb he could remember Marinette complaining about before school was over.

Adrien looked at Plagg who had already devoured the macaron. Macaron! Of course this was what Tikki ate. 

“Marinette?” He said tentatively, afraid of angering her. 

“What, no!” She almost shouted, trying to pry her hand away from his, but he didn’t budge.

“I know it’s you,” he admitted, feeling more confident by the second. He’d always known. 

“But how?” Came her surprised reply.

“Come over here and you’ll see,” he chuckled.

He heard some shuffling and then she appeared into view. 

“Adrien!” She exclaimed, looking him over with obvious surprise.

“Nice manicure,” he said, looking down at her hand which was still in his. He’d found her and he didn’t want to let go. Of course it was Marinette, of course he’d always felt that there was something more about her, his feelings knowing better than him. 

But the happiness filling his heart suddenly made way to despair. This was the moment he realised what he’d done. He’d betrayed her trust, he’d done the only thing he shouldn’t do and he had to pay the price for this by giving up being her partner.

“I’m so sorry, m’lady,” he said, no trace of the earlier breeziness in his vice. He finally let go of her hand and felt his heart break anew. He would be forced to let her go whether he liked it or not. “I was so stupid. I shouldn’t have looked, I knew what was at stake. Do what you have to do.”

He reached for his ring, trying to take it off, but this time her hand stopped him. 

“No,” she said, her tone stern but gentle at the same time. “It was wrong, I admit, but still an innocent mistake. You couldn’t have known. I won’t give up on you because of this. I need you.” His heart swelled with love once again. “Maybe it’s time you knew.”

“Finally!” Plagg said loudly, making both of them jump.

“Plagg!” Tikki scolded him. “Don’t mind us,” she added and dragged him away.

Their eyes met and they smiled. 

“Do you mean it?” He asked.

“Yes,” she said firmly, her hand squeezing his. “There is something else you should know as well,” she added, looking down at her feet. 

“What is it? You can tell me anything,” he said, surprised to see her suddenly turn shy. She looked up at him with a soft smile. 

“I know, kitty. It’s you. I’ve been in love with you all along, Adrien,” she clarified when he looked at her questioningly. His heart skipped a beat. Was he imagining things? “It may be too late, you might have moved on, but I needed to tell you.”

‘What? No!” He rushed to say. “You’re the only one who’s ever held my heart. You don’t know how true this is now that I know it’s you, Marinette.” 

They heard a crash in the distance and looked in that direction. 

“As much as we don’t want to interrupt you, we have to go,” Tikki said, appearing beside them again.

“I know,” Marinette said. “Just one more thing,” she added, turning to him. And then she was on her tiptoes, her lips brushing his cheek. “For good luck,” she said, her face flushed.

He moved on autopilot, his hands holding her face in place before she could retreat. He kissed her soft lips, a short but firm kiss that promised more.

“Good luck to you too,” he said when his eyes found hers again. Her cheeks were even brighter in colour, but she was smiling widely so he knew he’d read her right. 

“Let’s go,” she said. 


End file.
